Friday baseball post (and etc.)

I usually do these while listening to the Giants game, but I'll be shut down for the holiday by then, so I'll just hit a quick baseball note, a couple other things, and wish all those celebrating L'Shana Tovah:

Baseball item: Does anyone know why teams are using the disabled list this September? Normally, the (15 day) list stops functioning after rosters expand on September 1, but not this year. Granted, not an earth-shaking issue, but I'm curious nonetheless.

Baseball item: Speaking of which, it sure seems to me that non-contenders are shutting down more players than ever this year. It makes sense for non-contenders to be risk-averse, but I think they're a lot more aggressive about this than they used to be. I have no data, though, so I could easily be wrong.

Non-baseball item: Star Tours II? Finally. Excellent news.

Non-baseball item: I'm a big fan of all goofy and/or eccentric candidates. Glad to see them coming out of the woodwork.

Baseball item: It's September...how do you wind up with your injured, no-hit SS having a key 9th inning PA? Even worse, while the one that bothered me was (natch) the Giants on Thursday night, I saw the Red Sox do the same earlier in the week, and I bet three or four other teams did it, too. 15th inning, sure; 9th inning, it just shouldn't happen.

And with that, I'm gone until sundown on Sunday. Rosh Hashanah isn't my favorite holiday, but the food is excellent -- hope yours is as good as what I'll be eating!